Harry Potter, Runaway and Thief Extraordinaire
by Sheltie1267
Summary: Harry Potter ran away from home at the age of 5. Since then his life had made him herd headed and unyielding to authority. He was going to turn Hogwarts on it's ear, with the help of his best friend of course.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I decided to take a small break from Forgotten Twin and start this. This is the original version of Forgotten Twin if you can believe it. This was the story that eventually turned into Forgotten Twin after a few edits (fine, a **_**lot **_**of edits). It's kind of dark so be prepared. I hope you enjoy chapter 1.**

Harry James Potter has an okay life. It wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible. His parents somewhat took care of him. They would occasionally forget to feed him, by what was to be expected of 20 something year olds? They were barley adults themselves. Harry retained the belief that he was an accident. There were some special things about Harry James Potter. For one, he could talk to animals, or at least he thought he could. He might have just been so lonely that he was imagining things. He also had a very active imagination and was a fast learner. But by far the oddest thing about him was his lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. Harry knee it made him different from everyone around him. He sometimes heard his parents and their friend, Sirius, talking about it. On one such night, they were drunk out of their minds. They didn't know Harry was listening to what they were saying.

"Sometimes I wish I never had a kid eh Lily?" James drunkenly said.

Lily, equally as drunk replied, "Life would be so much easier. Kids are so needy. Feed me! Talk to me! Play with me! What about me? I need some time to myself to do what I want to do."

Sirius, even drunker that Lily and James said, "That's why I don't have kids. I don't even own a plant. They're too much work. I prefer the care free lifestyle. No worries, no responsibility."

"Yeah!" James agreed. "We should be living carefree now that Voldemort's gone. He's been gone 4 years and we haven't done anything worthwhile. We need a vacation. To bad we have a kid. Can't we just get rid of him?"

Harry, having heard enough, went to his room and started to pack a backpack. He put in a change of clothes, 2 bags of dried fruit, 10 jerky strips, and apple, and a large water bottle. He also added a blanket that was on his bed to the bag. Several hours later, James and Lily went to bed and Sirius left. It was the perfect time for Harry to make his escape. He quietly crept down the stairs to the back door and as quietly as possible, exited the house. When he was a good 200ft away, he turned back and in a barely audible whisper said, "Goodbye. I hope you find what your looking for." And with those parting words, Harry was gone.

It was several days before Lily noticed something was wrong. Usually Harry was bothering her about something or other.

"James! Have you seen Harry?" Lily yelled across their house.

James yelled back, "No! He's probably at the pond. He goes their often. Don't worry! It's charmed so that it's impossible to drown. If he doesn't show up by tonight, then you can worry. But for now, just relax."

Lily sighed and then got back to what she doing. Within an hour, she had forgotten about Harry again. She didn't remember about him that night at dinner either. It wasn't until 4 o'clock in the morning that she remembered. When she did remember she sat bolt right up. She shook James awake.

"James! James! We've done something terrible!" Lily cried.

"What?" James asked.

"We forgot about Harry again! He hasn't been here all day!" Lily said panicking slightly.

"I'm sure he's here. Let's go look in his room." James said getting out of bed.

When Lily and James opened Harry's door, they were greeted by an unpleasant surprise. The bed was made and all the clothes were neatly folded in the drawers and not a single book was out of place on the bookshelves. The room looked as though no one had been in there for days.

"Blinky!" James called.

"Yes Master? What is yous needing?" Blinky asked.

"Where is Harry?" James asked.

"He left. He left 5 days ago. Had yous been more involved in his life yous would have known." Blinky said angrily.

"Can you find him?" Lily asked.

"No. He no longer associated with the Potters. Is cannot find him." Blinky said.

"What do you mean no longer associates?" Lily asked confused.

"If ones were to ask him if yous were his parents, he be saying no. He no longer associates." Blinky said.

"What does that mean?" Lily asked. Blinky had already popped away.

"It means, that we don't have a son anymore." James said solemnly.

This was too much for Lily to handle. She started to cry and apologize to Harry. Because she was crying so hard though, it all came out as jumbled nonsense. James quietly left the room and went to make a floo call to Dumbledore.

Harry was hungry. The trill of leaving had worn off by the end of day one. He was currently in London looking for food. The day before he had eaten out of a trash can like he saw some other people doing. Today, he wanted real food. It was about 9 o'clock at night and all the fast food places were slow. Figuring he could at least fill up his water bottle, he made his way to the nearest McDonalds. He silently went in and made his way to the bathroom to fill up his water bottle with the tap water. When he came out, he noticed that someone had left the cash register open. Harry was hungry. He knew he need money for food, but he also knew that stealing was bad. Seeing more pros than cons, Harry crept over to the register and stole £75. Harry heard footsteps and he bolted in the opposite direction. He might not look it, but he was a fast runner. He didn't stop until he was four blocks away. Noticing a park, he decided that it would be a good place to sleep for the night. He settled himself in the heart of the park and took his blanket out of his backpack. Before he gave into sleep, he put his £75 in his pocket and decided that he needed a permanent camp.

"He ran away! We have no way of finding him! Do you know what this means!" James yelled at Dumbledore.

"I'm sure it's just a small rebellion. He just wants more attention." Dumbledore said calmly.

"It's been 5 days and we just noticed today. I don't think he wants more attention. I think he just wants attention." James said.

"Alas, you may be right. He has to learn though that he can't go and disappear whenever he wants attention. It wouldn't be good for him to think that." Dumbledore said.

"You better have some idea on where he is in the next three days." James said. "For now, I'm going to and comfort my wife. I trust you know where the door is?"

"I will have some information on the whereabouts of your son. Until then, goodbye and good luck." Dumbledore said apparating away.

Harry was walking back to the McDonalds. He wanted to give the money back, but he knew he needed it for food. He figured the next best thing would be to buy something there and pay for it with the stolen money.

"Welcome to McDonalds. How can I help you?" asked the lady behind the desk.

"Could I have 4 hamburgers and 2 large fries?" Harry asked. He had thought himself how to read prior to running away.

"Is that all?" the lady asked.

"Yes." Harry responded.

"Your total will be £15.46." Harry handed her the money and stepped to the side to wait for his food. When he got his food he put 3 of the hamburgers in his backpack and both orders of fries. He ate the fourth hamburger while walking out to try and find a new place to camp. Harry walked until all the people in suits came out of buildings for lunch and after a short 2 minute break, he continued walking. While he was walking he noticed one of the men in suits dropped his wallet. By the time Harry had gotten there though, the man had walked too far away for Harry to catch up. Opening the wallet to see what was inside, he saw £200 and a drivers license. Harry removed the cash and put the wallet back on the sidewalk in case the owner came back for it. It was another 30 minutes before Harry found a new place to camp. It was an abandoned warehouse near the center of the city and the men in suits. The warehouse was about 5 stories tall but only about half of the second floor was still intact, the rest had long since fallen down. Harry found a metal ladder and used it to get to the second floor and pulled the ladder up when he got to the top. The area was about 10 square feet, plenty big enough for one person. By the looks of it, it was once a very nice office. Harry began to unpack. First his food, then is money, then his blanket. Harry layed down his blanket by the wall and stashed his money in a crack in the wall. His food was placed back in his backpack to eaten later. With nothing else to do, Harry returned to the outside world.

Over the next few days Harry's cash reserve nearly tripled in size. After watching some of the older homeless people pickpocket people, Harry decide to try it for himself. His size was a great advantage for him. No one noticed him. He could get about 3 people in 5 minutes. He didn't want to pickpocket two people that were standing right next to each other, he'd seen some of the others make that mistake and get caught by the police. Instead he pickpocketed one person, walked 20 feet, pickpocketed the next, walked 20 feet, pickpocket the next and so on and so forth. By the time a week had passed, Harry had over a £1.000 and his humble camp in an abandoned warehouse now had an alarm clock, a pillow and a camp lantern. He also made himself a nightstand out of wood from the warehouse floor and he had found a mattress outside of a hotel that seemed to be in good condition. He was slowly making London his home.

Lily and James would read every muggle newspaper in London everyday. They would comb through the obituaries, comb through the crime section and read just about anything that had to do with crime, death, and missing persons. If someone didn't know what they were doing, they would think that they were crazy and should be sent to an insane asylum. For those that did know them, they sent them every muggle newspaper they could find to help them in their search for Harry. Dumbledore has promised that he would have information on where Harry was in three days. 3 years had passed and no one in the Wizarding community had seen hide nor hair of him since he left. Everyone, including James and lily were hoping that in another 3 years that Harry would show up at Hogwarts. That was all they could ask for at this point.

6 years had passed since Harry had moved into his warehouse. He now had over £5.000 stuffed in the walls from pickpocketing. He was nimble on his feet and had honed his skill to the point where the people he robbed wouldn't even know until they went to look for their wallet. His loft like room in the warehouse now had sheets on the mattress, a pillowcase in the pillow, several books, another camp lantern, more blankets and hygiene products. Every 3 days Harry would break into a nearby gym to shower and clean up. He would go every month to the Tames to wash his 5 outfits. There was rarely a night when Harry went without food now. Whenever he did go without food it was because he had gotten in a fight and could barely lift his head up. Over the years Harry had gotten into his fair share of knife fights over land, food, and money. Apparently, his warehouse was prime restate for the homeless teenagers. After losing 3 knife fights when he was 6 after his place was found by a local gang, Harry decided that he need to learn to fight. He went down to a hunting store and bought himself a hunting knife and a sharpener. His knife cost him £50 and was his most prized possession. He made sure that it was always sharp and that the leather handle was always pristine and he would replace it as needed. The next day was Harry's birthday. He didn't expect much from it. He stopped caring about his birthday a long time ago. He would buy himself a cupcake to sing himself happy birthday with. Most people would find this sad. A homeless 10, soon to be 11 year old singing himself happy birthday in the upper portion of a abandoned warehouse, but Harry found it uplifting. He loved being independent and relying on no one. Before he went to bed that night he turned off his lamp and opened the loose board on the wall so he could see the London skyline. This was his favorite part of living in London. He could see all the lights of the buildings for miles around, and on clear nights like that one, he could see the stars. With one last glance, Harry went to bed with a smile on his face.

The next morning when Harry woke up, there was a letter addressed to him sitting in his nightstand. It was written on thick, yellowy paper in bright emerald ink. Harry turned the letter over and saw the crest of Hogwarts in red wax. Knowing exactly what the letter was, Harry gathered his thing and put them in his backpack. He climbed down the ladder and went to the other side of the warehouse were there was a supply closet where he could store his mattress, nightstand and lanterns in while he was at Hogwarts. When he was pleased with how his stuff was hidden, he went back to his are to collect all the cash he had stuffed into the cracks in the wood. Once he had everything in proper order, he headed out to Diagon Alley to buy his supplies.

Even though it was summer, Harry still wore a black hoodie to hide his identity. His first stop in Diagon Alley was Gringotts. While in the bank he got £2.000 converted into Galleons. Now having enough money to buy all his school supplies, Harry went out into the alley to buy what need to be bought. First he bought his robes and meet one of the most unpleasant people he ever had the displeasure of meeting, then he went to Flourish and Blotts to buy his books, after that he went to the luggage store to buy a trunk for all his stuff, ext he went to the apothecary to buy all his potion supplies, and at around 2 o'clock he went to Ollivander' to buy a wand. The matching process took a lot longer than Harry expected. That may have been because Harry refused to identify himself to Ollivander. After what seem like forever, Harry bought a beechwood and Phoenix feather wand 12 ½ inches for 7 galleons. Just as he was about to leave the alley, he noticed a muggle weapons store. He didn't need any new weapons, but a sheath for his knife would be nice. He had to leave his blade outside while he was in Gringotts and he didn't like feeling so exposed. 20 minutes later, Harry was the proud owner of a leather belt-loop sheath. As soon as he paid for it, Harry clipped it onto his belt and sheathed his knife. Exiting the store, Harry noticed how many finely dressed wizards there were. Smiling to himself, Harry set out down the alley to begin robbing everyone blind. When he was done robbing most of the Wizarding population, Harry knew he was fling to turn Hogwarts in its ear and wreck havoc on a scale not seen since the marauders.

**A/N: I will still be working on Forgotten Twin while doing this. I just thought this would be a fun side project. As stated in the authors note above, this was the blueprint for Forgotten Twin and after many edits, Harry, Claire, Tonks, Hermione, Neville, Lily, Daniel, Remus, Amanda, and James has their personalities down on the cloud. (Was going to say paper then I remembered that I'm writing this electronically.) Anyway, I hope you liked it and reviews (constructive) are always welcome. Until next time!**

**-Sheltie1267**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Welcome back.**

Harry was currently dragging his trunk through the barrier of 9 ¾ . When he got to the other side, he saw something that made his blood boil. It was his parents. They were looking for him.

"I've avoided being found by you or any other wizard for 6 years and I'm not about to stop now." Harry muttered to himself. He quickly picked up his trunk and walked as fast as he dared to the train. Once inside the train he went to the first compartment and saw it was full, so he went to next one. It only had one occupant, a girl who looked about his age with bushy brown hair and two rather large front teeth.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" Harry asked.

"No not at all. Feel free." the girl said.

"Thanks." Harry said lifting his trunk onto the rack.

"I'm Hermione, Hermione Granger." Hermione said.

"I'm Harry, Harry Potter." Harry said sitting down.

"Thee Harry Potter?" Hermione asked.

"I guess." Harry said.

"You've been missing from the Wizarding world for like 6 years. It was huge story when you went missing." Hermione said.

"I bet." Harry said.

"Not that it's any of my business, but why do you seem so indifferent to it?" Hermione asked.

"I ran away for a reason. That's what the paper isn't telling you. The paper probably said that I was kidnapped or was abducted by the right wing terrorist group the death eaters." Harry said.

"Oh. Where do you live now?" Hermione asked.

"I live in London." Harry said.

"I also live in London. I went to St. Veronica's primary school." Hermione said.

"I didn't go to school. I thought myself to read and write before I ran away." Harry said.

"What books have you read?" Hermione asked.

"I've read Gulliver's Travels, Treasure Island, Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies, Pride and Prejudice, Peter Pan, Wizard of Oz, Hunchback of Norte Dame, Les Misrables, and that's all I can remember. I used to go to a library when I was bored and just read the books. I had nothing else to do." Harry said.

"I've read a lot of those books. My favorite was Les Misrables. Just something about it spoke to me." Hermione said.

"Maybe it's the fact that you're a miserable little mudblood." a boy with platinum blonde hair said. "So the rumors are true. Harry Potter has returned to the Wizarding world."

Harry, pissed that the boy had called Hermione a mudblood, decided to play with the boy. "How do you know I'm Harry Potter? How do you know I'm not Jack Adams?"

"Then it makes sense that you hang around _your_ type. The real Harry Potter would never lower himself to hang out that scum." the boy said. Hermione was close to tears

"What your name anyway?" Harry asked.

"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." Draco said.

"I'm Harry Potter." Harry said.

"So you are Harry Potter. I can help you make friends with the right people." Draco said offering his hand.

"If think that you're the "right" people, then maybe your inbred then I previously thought." Harry said standing up. His time on the streets gave him instincts for when things were about to get nasty.

"How dare you!" Draco screeched.

"At least my parents didn't meet each other at a family reunion." Harry said hand on the handle of his knife.

Draco drew his wand but Harry was faster. He had his knife up against Malfoy's face in a matter of seconds.

"I'll give you 5 seconds to put your wand away and leave peacefully." Harry said.

"No. Mudblood loving fools such as yourself need to be thought a lesson." Malfoy said. Harry sliced Malfoy's cheek.

"I don't tolerate that word. Leave." Harry demanded.

"No." Malfoy said. Harry made the hash in Draco's cheek deeper.

"I asked you to leave. Now leave." Harry demand drawing his wand.

"I don't think I will. I rather like it here." Malfoy sneered. "After all, I have to teach my lessers a lesson." he said eyeing Hermione. She scooter closer to the window.

Harry cast a spell, then immediately sliced Draco's check again. The blood from the wound was now pouring over his uniform.

"Leave." Harry demanded.

"Fine. I'll leave you and your mudblood." Malfoy said. This time Harry didn't cut Draco's cheek. It cut itself. Malfoy didn't notice though since the wound was still pouring blood from the previous 3 times. He left without any other unsolicited comments.

Harry day back down and Hermione asked, "What happened? And what's a mudblood?"

"I gave new meaning to the words old wounds don't heal. Every time he says the word mudblood, his wound will reopen." Harry said.

"What's so bad about the word mudblood?" Hermione asked.

"It's like calling a black person the "n" word. It's a derogatory term used for those of muggle parentage." Harry explained.

"That's not right. You can't choose who your parents are. And I'm just as magical as everyone else." Hermione said.

"Your probably more magical than most of the pure bloods. All that magic's gets diluted after a few generations." Harry said.

Hermione slumped into her seat after hearing all the information Harry had to offer. "All I wanted were friends. I excepted the fact that I would t have any in the muggle world, but I at least thought I have one in the Wizarding world."

"Don't worry Hermione. I'll be your friend. I might not be a very good one though since I've never had one before." Harry admitted.

Hermione smiled, "That makes two of us. I've never had a friend either." Harry walked over to the other side of the compartment and sat next to Hermione, his new friend. They talked some more about nothing in particular, and when the trolley came to sell them food, Harry bought a box of jellybeans and 4 chocolate frogs. Just as they were about to start their game of who can eat the most questionable jellybean and not throw up, another unwelcome guest showed up.

"Can I sit here? Everywhere else is full." said the red head boy standing in the doorway.

"You waited until now to try and find a seat? We've been on this train for 3 hours." Hermione asked amazed at the stupidity of this boy.

"And how can "everywhere else be full"? It's a magic train, it grows as many compartments as needed." Harry added.

"Can I sit here or not!" The boy demanded.

"When you say it that way… absolutely not." Harry said.

"You're just like I expected Potter. Too stuck up to let anyone sit with you." the boy said.

"There it is! That's why you wanted to sit here. You wanted to sit here so you could make friends with the famous Harry Potter and maybe weasel some fame for yourself. Well that's not going to work. Goodbye and good day to you." Harry said getting back to his jellybeans. The boy stomped away fuming.

"People really want to be "friends" with you." Hermione said popping a red jellybean into her mouth. She immediately started coughing and sputtering.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"Chili flavored. Ugh! I've never tasted something so disgusting in my whole life!" Hermione moaned.

Harry laughed. "You'll get used to it. I think I once got a spider flavored one." Harry said.

"That's discus and I did t need to hear that." Hermione said.

"As my best friend, you are required to listen to gross and weird stuff wether you want to or not." Harry mock declared.

"I'm your best friend?" Hermione beamed.

"Of course! Who else would it be foulfy the hair gel?" Harry said. "All jokes aside though, you are my best friend. You wanted to friends with me _before _you knew I was famous."

"And it's going to take a whole lot more than fame and idiots who come here trying to get famous to scare me away Potter and don't you forget it." Hermione said.

"I won't, I promise. Now what do you suppose this one taste like?" Harry asked holding up a pile green jellybean.

"If I had to guess, I would say either earwax or vomit." Hermione said. Harry popped it onto his mouth.

"Manure." He said. Hermione laughed for a solid 5 minutes. Harry decide that there was no better sight than watching her face lit up with mirth.

The whistle sounded for 5 minutes to Hogwarts. Harry went outside to wait for Hermione to change. And Hermione waited outside for Harry to change. When they got to the train station, the two of them were told to leave their luggage on the train. On the platform, they heard a big, booming voice calling for first years.

"Hide me!" Harry whispered frantically to Hermione.

"Why? What's wrong?" Hermione asked.

"That's Hagrid! He's friends with my parents." Harry whispered from behind Hermione.

Harry and Hermione trudged down a muddy slope to a dock were there was an army of little boats.

"4 to a boat!" Hagrid yelled.

Harry and Hermione clambered in with a girl with red hair braided down her back and another girl with strait brown hair. When they saw the castle everyone ooed and ahed at the pure majesty of the castle. The boats docked a marina below the castle and everyone got out. Harry was still hiding behind Hermione. The first years walked up a flight of steps and saw a rather severe looking woman. Harry crouched down farther behind Hermione.

"Good evening. I am Professor McGonagal. I'm a few minutes, you will be sorted. The houses are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. While you are here, your house will be like your family. Good behavior will find you awarded with house points. Any wrong doing… follow me. The sorting is about to commence." McGonagal said.

The first years walked behind the Professor right down the middle of the Great Hall. At the end of the tables, there was a tattered and frayed hat. All the students were staring at it. Suddenly, the hat erupted into song. When it's song was over, everyone clapped. The first years breathed a collective sigh of relief. All they had to do was put on a hat. When it came to be Hermione's turn, Harry bade her good luck. Hermione went up to the stool and put the hat on. After what seemed like eons, the hat yelled, _Gryffindor!_

3 more students were sorted into Gryffindor before it was Harry's turn.

"Harry Potter" McGonagal called out. There was a sudden outburst of whispering among the students. No one in the Wizarding world had seen seen hide nor hair of him for 6 years. Harry walked up to the sorting hat. Dumbledore was scamming him critically. Harry smirked at him. When he put the hat on, he was greeted by a voice.

"_Hello Harry James Potter." the voice said. _

Confused, Harry thought, "Who are you?"

"_I am the Sorting Hat. I see everything in your mind." the hat said. _

Uncomfortable, Harry asked, "What house am I in?"

"_Pick one. You have characteristics of all the houses. Your personality is distributed evenly across all the houses. You're loyal, patient, cunning, smart, brave, you would do just fine in any of the houses." the Hat said. _

"Gryffindor. I want to be with my best friend." Harry said.

"**Gryffindor!"** the Hat yelled.

The Gryffindor table erupted into cheers. Harry made his way over to the table and sat down next to Hermione.

"I knew you'd be a Gryffindor! What other house could you have been?" Hermione beed.

"Any of the houses. The hat said that I could have been just fine in any of the house. It told me to pick one. I picked this one because it's where my best friend is." Harry said. Hermione hugged him. The rest of the table just stared at them. When the food arrived, Harry and Hermione instantly went for it. Harry was used to eating very little, attacked his food in a civilized manner. On his plate he had piled up steak, carrots, zucchini, broccoli and bread. Hermione had chicken, squash, asparagus, green beans and bread. When dessert came around, Harry grabbed a large bowl of jellybeans. Taking a yellow one he said, "Lemon." Harry ate the jellybean, and immediately spit it out. "Egg yolk" Harry said coughing. Hermione selected a black one. "Black licorice." She said eating her jellybean. She also immediately spit it out. "Ugh! That must have been like ink or something!" Hermione said. The game continued until Dumbledore got up to talk.

"Before you go off to bed, I have a few announcements. The third floor corridor is forbidden to all students who do not want to die a most painful death." Dumbledore said.

Before he could continue, one of the red heads shouted out, "What's behind the door?"

Dumbledore replied, "Not sure. The last person who went in there wouldn't stop screaming. By the time we got in there, there was hardly anything left of them for us to question." The rest of the school paled and began to whisper. Harry and Hermione looked at each other. They would find out what was behind that door. "Off to bed all of you. Classes start tomorrow. Dream sweet dreams!" Dumbledore said waving his hands animatedly towards the doors.

"First years! First years! This way to the dormitory!" the prefect for Gryffindor house called. Harry was pretty sure his name was Percy. As they walked through the halls, Harry tried to remember where they were going so he could find his way back the next day.

"This place is a labyrinth." Hermione whispered.

"I know right! I feel like a lab rat trying to find the cheese." Harry whispered back. Eventually they did get to the dormitories. Harry and Hermione agreed to meet in the common room at 7:30 the next morning. They were both asleep as soon their heads hit their pillows. It had been a rather long day and classes would start in the morning.

**A/N: Sorry about the long update. I got sidetracked by the woman's World Cup. Some of the plays were amazing! Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter and that it was worth the wait. Until next time!**

**-Sheltie1267**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry for the long update. I was busy all summer and just haven't had time. **Anyway**, without further ado, chapter 3. **

At 7 o'clock the next morning, Harry was up. He wanted to get up early so he would be first to get into the showers, the first shower he had taken in 6 years that he didn't need to worry about being arrested for taking. He stood there for a solid 20 minutes just enjoying the peace. After he was done getting dressed, he went down to the common room to wait for Hermione. When he got down there Hermione was already there ready to go.

"You're up early." Harry said walking over to the portrait hole.

"I wanted to get up early so I could use the shower before the other girls. They seem like they're high maintenance and bathroom hogs." Hermione said following Harry.

"Sounds like you won the roommate lottery. Mine aren't nearly as bad. They just seem like the type of guys to wait until the last minute to anything. Which is fine because they're guys and don't require that much time to get ready, but if all of them do it at the exact same time, then it becomes a problem." Harry said.

"I guess. I don't think I could physically wait until the last minute. I would have to have something done at least 12 hours in advance. Usually I have homework and like g term prospects done at least a week before it's due. The homework at my school would be assigned on Monday and would be due the following Monday. I always had it done the first day we got it." Hermione explained.

"Well, I never went to school, but I never waited until the last minute to do anything. If my blanket had a hole in it, I would either replace it immediately, or fix it if I could. The last thing you want is for it to be a particularly cold night and not have a proper blanket." Harry said.

"You sound like my dad. As soon as something breaks or isn't working right, he fixes it or replaces it. Usually fixing it as he's a dentist and you can't just replace teeth on a whim." said Hermione. "You know what a dentist is right?"

"Of course. They deal with teeth. They clean them and make sure they are healthy. And do stuff to make sure they stay healthy. They also tell you to floss; it's like their trademark saying, 'Did you floss?', 'Are you flossing?', 'You need to floss more.'" Harry said mimicking a dentist. Hermione burst out laughing.

"My dad says that all the time! He always gives me floss for Christmas in my stocking. That and a toothbrush. That's what happens when both your parents are dentist." Hermione said. "What do your parents do?"

"Who cares. I haven't talked to them in years. And even when I lived with them they paid me no attention." Harry said bitterly.

Hermione feeling uncomfortable, said nothing. She and Harry made their way down to the Great Hall in silence. Once there they began to pile food on their plates. Harry grabbed a bagel and cream cheese, and Hermione got a piece of toast with marmalade and a glass of milk. After they finished eating, they began talking again. The conversation was forced at first, but is slowly became for relaxed. Ten minutes later, McGonagal came up to the pair.

"Mister Potter, you are needed in the headmaster's office at once." McGonagal said urgently.

"Why? We haven't even had class yet. I haven't done anything. Okay, maybe I took a little too much cream cheese…" Harry began.

Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "You took a whole container for each half of the bagel. You took way too much."

"But that's not a reason to have to visit the headmaster. Some people just really like cream cheese. Who is he to judge my eating habits." Harry protested.

Confused, McGonagal said, "I can assure you that's not why he want to talk to you. Please go to his office." Harry and Hermione got up to leave. "Miss Granger, you stay here." Harry shrugged and Hermione sat back down. Harry would tell her everything that happened wether or not she was invited. Harry walked alone to the headmaster's office. The gargoyle that guarded his office let him in immediately. Before entering the office, Harry presses an ear to the door. Unbeknownst to him, the door was motion activated and opened as soon as Harry leaned closer. Standing in front of Dumbledore's desk were the last people Harry ever wanted to see.

-00000-

Lily and James were sitting in their living room reviewing newspaper articles when they received an owl. James took the letter and immediately handed it to Lily. The letter bore the Hogwarts seal.

"What do you think this could be?" Lily asked getting excited. Her son had turned 11 a month ago. Maybe it was news on him.

"I don't know. Open it." James said.

_Lily and James,_

_Your son has been sorted into Gryffindor house. Stop by my office tomorrow morning and I will arrange a meeting between the 3 of you. _

_Headmaster of Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Albus Percervil Wolfric Brian Dumbledore _

"James, it's from Dumbledore. He wants us to stop by his office tomorrow to talk to Harry." Lily said excitedly.

"Well then, I'll go take the day off. You should too. I think it's best we get some rest so we are ready for tomorrow." James said getting out of his chair.

-00000-

"Well, nice seeing good bye. You won't be getting a Christmas card, so Crappy Christmas!" Harry said turning around to try and leave. The doors were locked. "Uh… do you mind unlocking the doors? It's a bit of a fire hazard to have them locked."

"You are not going anywhere Mr. Potter until you answer a few questions. Now sit down." Dumbledore commanded. Harry took the chair next to his parents and moved it to next to the door. "Why don't you join us over here?" Dumbledore asked.

"Because I don't want to. Now ask your questions so I can leave." Harry said.

"Very well. Why did you run away from home?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry rolled his eyes, he knew this would be the first question asked. "Because my "parents" clearly said that they didn't want me. Both in their words and in their actions. Don't try to protest you know it's true. You would forget to feed me, you wouldn't listen to me. You even said that I was too needy. I was raised by a house elf because you to couldn't be bothered to take of me."

"Which house elf?" James asked.

"Blinky." Harry said. James summoned Blinky. Blinky went straight to Harry.

"Master Harry! You is okay! Blinky has greatly missed Master Harry!" Blinky said hugging Hart around the middle. Harry smiles and hugged the elf back.

"I missed you too Blinky. I missed playing board games upstairs with you. I have yet to beat you at monopoly." Harry said.

"Maybe you can play Blinky at a later date. Blinky also missed playing monopoly." Blinky said. She was paying no attention the Lily and James.

"Blinky!" James yelled he was getting agitated.

Blinky turned and glared at James, "Yes master? Is there something I can do for you?"

James was slightly taken aback. He had never heard an elf address their master in this manner. "Did you know where Harry went?"

"I saw him once. That was when I was getting something for yous at a store near a park in London. I saw Master Harry walking out of the park." Blinky turned to Harry, "Blinky is sorry for not making contact with you. Blinky wanted too. But Blinky didn't want to lie to masters."

"It's okay Blinky. I forgive you." Harry said. Blinky Hughes Harry again. This was the happiest the elf had been for years. James was not so happy.

"Blinky." Blinky turned to have James. He roughly took off his shoe and tore of his sock. He threw it at the elf. "You're free. Leave."

"Thank you master." Blinky said. James had not expected her to react that way.

"Can Blinky be master Harry's elf now?" Blinky asked Harry. Harry was shocked. He didn't think his father would free Blinky.

"I take thee Blinky to be my elf." Harry said with is hand in the air.

Blinky responded, "Blinky agrees to be Harry Potter's house elf until Blinky can no longer provide service."

"So mote it be." Harry and Blinky said together.

"After that turn of events, Harry, is there anything you would like to add?" Dumbledore asked trying to rein the conversation in.

"No. Just that they are self centered, self righteous, vain, conceited, assholes, and I will _never_ live with them. I would rather die." Harry said.

"I'm sure your exaggerating Harry." Dumbledore said with a hint of panic in his voice.

"I assure you I'm not. The only adult who has ever shown me any compassion was Remus. He is the only on I regret leaving." Harry said getting out of chair.

"Where are you going Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore asked.

"Back to breakfast. It appears this netting is going no where and I don't much care for the topic. I've also made myself clear on where I stand on the issue." Harry said walking towards the door. "Hopefully I never see any of you again. Goodbye!" Harry walked out the door. Blinky followed.

"Master, what is Blinky to do?" Blinky asked.

"Erm… do you think that you could work in the Hogwarts kitchens or with the housekeeping elves?" Harry asked. He hadn't really thought through what he would do with Blinky.

"Yes Master Harry. Is there anything else?" Blinky asked.

"Yes actually, do you think you could find and information on Remus Lupin?" Harry asked.

Blinky hesitated, "_Should Blinky tell him? No. Blinky will find information and then flee. Blinky doesn't want to be there when he finds out. No telling what Master might do."_ "Blinky will try to find information."

Harry smiled, "Thank you Blinky." Blinky bowed and then popped away. Harry turned towards the direction of the Great Hall. He had to tell Hermione.

**A/N: Sorry for the long update. Writers block and school are not a good combination. Try to guess what happened to Remus. I guarantee whatever you think it is, is not what happened. Until next time!**

**-Sheltie1267**


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